The family and friends of a 72-year-old woman hope the public can help police find her killer after she was found badly beaten and lying on a darkened street just northeast of downtown earlier this month.

Gueldner was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died Jan. 22. She was unable to tell police or her family any details about the attack before she died.

Police said investigators have used surveillance video to piece together the moments leading up to the discovery of the hotel worker's battered body. But crucial questions remain unanswered.

Gueldner ended her shift at the Hilton Americas and is seen on surveillance video leaving about midnight through the back door of the building at 1600 Polk. She walks eastbound on Polk, turns north on Avenida De Las Americas and passes in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Then she appears to turn east onto Rusk. After that, police say, her trail goes cold.

Normally, police said, Gueldner rode the Metro 50 Harrisburg line to her home near Broadway in southeast Houston. However, investigators said they believe she either never made it to the bus stop at Texas and Hamilton or she decided to walk home.

All investigators know for certain is that workers found her several hours later sprawled in front of their building. They called 911.

Surveillance video shows that between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., people were walking in the area where Gueldner was found. A person saw her there about 3:45 a.m. Police said Gueldner appeared to be leaning against a wall and the person didn't know she had been hurt.

At about 4:30 a.m., a light colored SUV is seen driving by the spot and briefly stopping. However, the driver has not contacted police and it is unknown if the person has any connection to the case.

Gueldner's son, Leslie Gueldner, said his mother was a kind, gentle woman. He said his mother had worked at the hotel for about 10 years in housekeeping services and loved her job. She often stayed at the hotel after she finished her shift to visit with co-workers or help out if it was needed.

In their family's southeast Houston neighborhood, she was known as a caring woman who regularly cooked for neighbors and friends, who affectionately called her Mama Alie.

His mother's loss, he said, has devastated all who knew her. He urged anyone with information about the attack to call police.

"Please," he said "contact authorities so we can at least get a little closure."